Wildlife trade: Stronger protections for sharks and rays urged

At a wildlife trade conference in Uzbekistan, governments agreed Friday to strengthen protections for over 70 species of sharks and rays. AP Photo

At a wildlife trade conference in Uzbekistan, governments agreed Friday to strengthen protections for over 70 species of sharks and rays, responding to concerns that overfishing is pushing some toward extinction.

The new measures ban international trade in oceanic whitetip sharks, manta and devil rays, and whale sharks. They also tighten rules for gulper sharks, smoothhound sharks, and tope sharks, allowing trade only when sources are verified as legal, sustainable, and traceable. Zero-annual export quotas were set for several guitarfish and wedgefish species, effectively halting most legal international trade.

Conservationists hailed the decision as a milestone. Luke Warwick of the Wildlife Conservation Society said the protections reflect a “powerful show of leadership and solidarity” from countries across Latin America, Africa, the Pacific, and Asia. Barbara Slee of the International Fund for Animal Welfare noted that over 100 million sharks are killed annually, often for fins, meat, oil, or gills, and called the measures a critical step to rebalance human impacts on these ancient species.

The treaty, part of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), has previously expanded protections for more than 90 shark species, including hammerheads, requiem sharks, and guitarfish. Adopted in 1975, CITES has also been instrumental in curbing illegal trade in ivory, rhino horns, whales, and sea turtles.

While the conference strengthened shark protections, conservationists said other decisions were more mixed. Export regulations for saiga antelope horn were relaxed, though the species was recently upgraded from critically endangered to near threatened thanks to improved law enforcement and habitat conservation.

Experts say the latest shark and ray protections are vital for sustainable marine ecosystems, emphasizing that humans pose far greater threats to these species than they do to us. - Agencies